S is for Sin-Eater and Spirit Armor

It's plain to see that for NUELOW Games one of the preferred iterations of the OGL d20 is the OGL Modern--otherwise, we probably wouldn't have released these products. With that in mind, here's a talent tree for use with your OGL Modern Games. This material is presented under the Open Gaming License. If you choose to reproduce it, please give credit and copyright acknowledgement to Steve Miller and NUELOW Games.

Sin-Eater: A Talent Tree for Dedicated Heroes (By Steve Miller)

This dedicated hero has the mystical ability to absorb the power of evil spirits and turn it to his advantage.

   Spirit Sense: When the character enters a structure or other defined area, where an evil spirit or restless ghost is present, he receives a Will save (rolled secretly by the GM).. If successful, he knows "something is wrong" and cannot be surprised or caught flat-footed by spirits or mortal enemies

   Transfer Condition: By sharing a brief meal with a character who is poisoned or suffering from a condition, the dedicated hero transfers the condition onto himself; this takes 3 rounds and the ritual meal must not be interrupted by attacks or the participants performing other actions. The character from whom the condition was transferred is restored to normal status and fully healed if applicable.

   The dedicated hero suffers from the effect of the condition for one round, but can then make a Fortitude save (DC12) to neutralize it. If the saving throw fails, the Sin Eater is now subject to the condition unless cured through normal means.

   This talent can only be used on poisons and the following conditions: Ability Damaged, Blinded, Confused, Deafened, and Sickened.

   Transfer Curse: The dedicated hero can transfer magical curses from their target characters by sharing a meal with them. This ritual meal takes 30 minutes and cannot be interrupted by combat or other skill use. At the end of the 30 minutes, the cursed characters are immediately liberated from the ill effects of the curses, and the dedicated hero is now subject to them.

   The dedicated hero suffers from the effects of transferred curses for one round. He may then roll a Will save (DC15) to neutralize them. If all the characters from whom curses were transferred were under the same effect, only one roll is needed, but if there was more than one kind of curse, the dedicated hero must roll once for each kind.  

   If the dedicated hero is absorbing a curse from a structure, the Will save is made against a DC18.

   If the Will save fails, the dedicated hero is subject to the curses transferred until they are removed through magical means.

   Prerequisite: Transfer Condition

and from a building or other defined area, by 

   Bonus Feat: The hero gains one of the following as a bonus feat: Alertness, Focused, Ghost Spotter, Ghost Whisperer, or Spirit Armor. All prerequisites must still be met to gain the feat.

   Consume Sin: By eating a meal in a place haunted by an evil spirit or ghost, the dedocated hero absorbs some of the creature's power, weakening it while empowering himself. The effectiveness of this ritual depends on how long the hero spends performing it. The effects are cumulative.

Time Spent on Meal    Penalty to Ghost/Spirit   Bonus for Hero

3 rounds                     -1 to attack rolls             +1 to Defense vs. ghosts

15 minutes                 -1 to attack rolls and       +1 to Defense and saving

                                   saving throws                  throws

30 minutes                  -2 to attack rolls,            +2 to saving throws and skill

                                  saving throws, and            checks

                                  skill checks

1 hour                        -2 to attack rolls,             +4 to attack rolls

                                  -10 hit points                     and skill checks, +10 hit points

While consuming the ritual meal, the hero cannot engage in combat or perform actions other than engaging other characters or creatures in conversation. If the hero suffers damage or other disruptions, he can make a Concentration check to maintain the inner calm necessary to successfully absorb the ghost's evil. If the hero is interrupted or chooses to stop the ritual, the benefits gained at the last achieved benchmark are gained. (If a hero decides to attack a ghost after 50 minutes, the creature has all the penalties up to the 30-minute mark while the hero has all the benefits).

   The penalties and benefits remain until the ghost targeted with the ritual is destroyed or otherwise laid to rest, or the next sunrise. If the dedicated hero should be killed before either event, his soul rises as a restless, destructive and hate-filled ghost.

New Feat

GMs who incorporate this feat into their games should add it to the list of bonus feats for the dedicated hero.

Spirit Armor [General]

Your spirit fortifies your body against assaults by incorporeal creatures and spirits.

   Prerequisite: Wisdom 17, Focused.

   Benefit: The hero gains +4 to Defense and +2 to Fort saves against physical attacks made by incorporeal beings.

   Prerequisite: Focused

Q is for Quest Stones

Here's another entry in the A to Z April Blogging Challenge--will we make it to the end of the alphabet before the month runs out? Does anyone care? Today's offering is presented in its entirety under the Open Gaming License. If you chose to reproduce it, please give credit and copyright acknowledgement to Steve
Miller and NUELOW Games.

Quest Stones (By Steve Miller)
The fist-sized, basalt stones are engraved with the marks of the sorcerers and wizards who originally created them. Commonly used in the ancient Kingdom of Lodareno, they would be given to messengers and hirelings dispatched for specific missions. So long as the minion stayed on task, he would receive magical aid, but if he strayed from his assigned purpose, a dire curse would fall upon him. Once the assigned task is successfully completed, the stone loses all magic.
   Caches of these stones are occasionally recovered by explorers and tomb robbers venturing into the crypts of Lodareno. Modern arcane researchers have yet to uncover the means by which the stones were created, so each discovered cache becomes a highly sought commodity for government and criminal organizations alike who want to insure extra dedication and loyalty among operatives.

OGL d20 System Stats
The magic of a quest stone takes effect when a character accepts it as part of an agreement to perform a task for a superior or an employer in exchange for payment or other reward. So long as the character works toward his assigned goal, he enjoys a +1 bonus to all skill checks, attack rolls, and saving throws.
   If the character spends more than a day on activities not related to his assigned duty, he loses the previously described bonus and is subject to a -2 penalty to all skill checks, attack rolls, and saving throws. Once the character returns to his assigned task, the penalties are lifted, but he must remain focused for another full day before the bonus is restored.
   Discarding the stone does not lift its effect upon the character; only the completion of the task, formal release from it by the person who assigned it, or a dispel magic cast at a 24th level effectiveness can do that.

P is for Paula's Apron Strings

And we continue to design our way through the alphabet here at NUELOW Games, as part of our bumbling, stumbling unofficial participation in the A to Z April Blogging Challenge. This post is presented under the Open Gaming License, with the text under the header "OGL d20 System Game Rules" being Open Gaming content. Enjoy!

Paula's Apron Strings (By Steve Miller)
Paula Noreville was one of America's premiere coven leaders of the 1950s and early 1960s. From behind the facade of the perfect housewife, she led her band of witches and warlocks to victory against dark forces time and again. But for all the good she did, Paula was a domineering woman whose kind smiles and mom-and-apple-pie attitude also concealed a pathological need to have absolute control over everyone in her life.
   Paula dominated her coven and family with clever and sugar-coated psychological manipulation and the occasional application of an oven mitt-covered iron fist. As her children grew into adulthood, rebelled against her, and eventually struck out on their own, she resorted to magic in order to guarantee they would never be far from her control.
   Using the strings from her favorite apron, Paula created two unique magic items, one for each of her children. They consist of two matched sets of three-inch light blue strips of cloth cut from the apron's strings and enchanted. She hid one string in each of her children's homes and whenever she held its counterpart, the child was compelled to return home to Paula, no matter where they might be in the world.
   Paula was eventually murdered by her son after, presumably, he discovered how she had been interfering with his life. His own family had been killed shortly in a car crash after his wife decided to follow him on one of his sudden trips back to his childhood home.

OGL d20 and OpenD6 System Rules
Paula's Apron Strings consists of a matched set of two light blue strips of cloth, each 2 inches in length, They radiate faint Summoning and Necromantic magic. The user hides one of the strings in the home of the target. When he or she holds the counterpart and concentrates on the target for a full two minutes, the target is filled with an overwhelming need to the user's home and to help him or her with whatever challenges that might be facing her.
   The target can ignore the urge, but for each day of not making an effort to travel to the user, the target suffers a cumulative -1 penalty to all skill checks and attack rolls. The progression of the penalty can be stopped for a single day by target phoning or writing and sending a letter to the user, but existing penalties are not removed and it continues to grow the next day.
   The only way to be released from the bond of Paula's Apron Strings is for the target to find the one in his home and return it to the user who hid it there. The user need not willingly accept it from the target, but he or she is free of the magic once this step has been taken.

Drawback: The target of Paula's Apron Strings gradually comes to loathe the user. After being compelled three times, he or she holds a level of resentment equal to a character that has been misused while under the influence of a charm person spell. After six times, the target so dislikes the user that only the Apron Strings can even make him or her think about the user. After 12 times, the target so hates the user that a small provocation will cause him or her to become violent toward the user.

O is for Ot's Armband of Faithfulness

Here's another magic item for use in your RPG games. It's published under this license, and everything in this post (except the graphic) is Open Gaming Content. Please give acknowledgement to Steve Miller and NUELOW Games if you decide to republish it,.

Ot's Armband of Faithfulness (By Steve Miller)
Three of these delicate gold armband are known to exist, each engraved with the symbol of Ott, They were created by Mongolian shamans during the years 800-1300. C.E. Ott is the Mongolian goddess of marriage and fire, and these items are reported to make the bond of marriage unbreakable between a husband and wife. Once one spouse makes a gift of an armband of faithfulnesss, neither of them can betray the other without dire consequences.
   One of these items was originally been owned by Borte, the wife and true love Temujin, the Mongol emperor known as Genghis Khan. Legend holds that she insisted it be used to bond her and Temujin together after she was abducted and raped by members of the Merkit tribe, because she wanted to know her husband would never doubt her love and faithfulness to him. Although Temujin never doubted her, he acquiessed to her demand.

OGL d20 System Game Mechanics
Once an armband of faithfulness is exchanged between duly married partners, the giver and receiver are both subject to a powerful curse that can only be lifted by the goddess Ot herself. The curse manifests itself in two different ways:
   The recipient feels a compulsion to wear the armband at all times and could be said to feel naked without it. If the character should ever attempt to betray his or her spouse, all skill checks or saving throws involved are subject to a -4 penalty. When the betrayal is complete, any characters actively taking part in the action must roll a successful Will save (DC23) or be filled with a homicidal rage that only subsides when the recipient is dead. If the save is successful. the characters are filled with disgust and loathing for the recipient.
   The giver suffers no ill effects until he or she commits an act of betrayal against the Recipient. The moment the act is complete, the character immediately bursts into fire that cannot be extinguished, suffering 6d6 points of damage. The character continues to burn for three more rounds, suffering 4d6 points of damage, 2d6 points of damage, and finally 1d6 points of damage. If the character drops below 0 hit points, his or her body dissolves into a fine ash from which no resurrection is possible. If the character lives, he or she is horribly disfigured and crippled, immediately suffering a 10-point reduction to Strength, Dex, and Charisma attribute scores (to a minimum of 1).

OpenD6 System Game Mechanics
Once an armband of faithfulness is exchanged between duly married partners, the giver and receiver are both subject to a powerful curse that can only be lifted by the goddess Ot herself. The curse manifests itself in two different ways:
   The recipient feels a compulsion to wear the armband at all times and could be said to feel naked without it. If the character should ever attempt to betray his or her spouse, all difficulty levels are adjusted by +8. When the betrayal is complete, any characters actively taking part in the action must roll a successful Willpower check against a difficulty 23 or be filled with a homicidal rage that only subsides when the recipient is dead. If the save is successful. the characters are filled with disgust and loathing for the recipient.
   The giver suffers no ill effects until he or she commits an act of betrayal against the Recipient. The moment the act is complete, the character immediately bursts into fire that cannot be extinguished, suffering 6d6 points of damage. The character continues to burn for three more rounds, suffering 4d6 points of damage, 2d6 points of damage, and finally 1d6 points of damage. If the character drops below 0 hit points, his or her body dissolves into a fine ash from which no resurrection is possible. If the character lives, he or she is horribly disfigured and crippled, with Strength, Dexterity, and Attractiveness (if used) immediately being reduced to 1D each.

N is for Nadia's Needle

We're limping along with the A to Z April Blogging Challenge here at NUELOW Games. If we get to Z before the end of the month, I think we will have done good, given what's going on. That said, here's N (a little late, but here it is!) This item is presented under this license and everything in the post, except the illo and the paragraph labeled "The History of Nadia's Needle", is Open Gaming Content.
   This item is usable for any RPG that features magic items.

Nadia's Needle (By Steve Miller)
This item is a small sewing needle with an inch of silvery thread  run through the eye. It radiates faint magic of an indeterminate nature, which has caused many treasure seekers to overlook it while looting this or that hoard, or to discard it when it appears to be useless.
   However, this item, a camel can literally pass through the eye of the needle.When stuck into a flat surface--such as a door, wall, or floor--the needle becomes the center of a faintly glowing blue circle with a 7-foot in diameter. It is invisible to anyone further than 6 inches away from it. The circle is actually a short-range dimensional portal that allows up to four living beings (along with any gear that will fit through the opening) to pass through to the area on the other side before it closes. The needle stays embedded in the original surface, and the portal ceases to exist immediately after the needle is removed or the fourth living creature passes through it.
   The Needle is also rumored to have a second use--the ability to close portals to the City of Silver Towers, home to a pantheon of evil gods. This has not been confirmed, however.

The Background of Nadia's Needle
The true origin of Nadia's Needle is unknown. It draws its modern name from its most recently known owner, Nadia Tokareva. She was a young Soviet agent active in Germany during World War II who used the Needle as part of efforts to help those hunted by Nazis to escape to safety. Later, as the Cold War came into effect and she came to understand how tyrannical the Soviet government was, she became a double agent for the Western powers and helped people escape from East Germany and elsewhere behind the Iron Curtain. Nadia vanished without a trace in 1962 after reporting to a contact in the CIA that she was setting out to investigate what she believed to be a secret military facility codenamed Silver Tower.

M is for Mary Jane

 Today's entry in the A to Z April Blogging Challenge celebrates the the legalization of pot in Washington State. While no one here at NUELOW Games actually smokes the Whacky Weed (although apparently L.L is apparently one of the slang terms for marijuana), we don't mind those who do. So long as they treat their habits like drunks treat theirs and stay the hell away from their cars while high/stoned/bombed/whatever.

So here's a pre-generated character for use in a ROLF! battle scenario--Mary Jane, the Mistress of Mellow.  (A perfect foe for her would be the Tee-totaler featured in ROLF!: St. Patty vs. The Snake.)

Mary Jane, the Mistress of Mellow (By L.L. Hundal)
The mysterious dark-tressed Mary Jane has been a tireless crusader for the right to get high and mellow whenever and whereever ever since she first appeared in a cloud of sweet-smelling smoke and her green-and-yellow superhero outfit in Seattle's Pioneer Square. Her greatest foes are Buzzkill, Frigid Fanny, and the Tee-totaler.

Mary Jane (Female)
(aka Mary Jo Verde)
Brawn 21, Body 15, Brains 7
Traits: Busty, Martial Arts Master, Nimble
Combat Maneuvers:  Basic Attack, Furious Fists, Disarm, Dodge, Strike Pose, Spelling (After Me, Mellow Haze).
Important Items Worn/Wielded: Superhero Outfit (Armor. Absorbs up to 2 points of damage).

New Spelling
Mellow Haze: The Speller causes a pale green gas to form over the battle area. All characters must roll Brawn ATT checks or lose the will to fight. Unless attacked, they will leave the battle area in search of something to snack on. Characters so effected are removed from the battle scenario and considered defeated.

(This post is  Copyright 2013 NUELOW Games and Steve Miller, but permission is granted for duplication for personal use,)

L is for Lich Lantern

Continuing our RPG design trek through the alphabet, here's another entry in the A to Z April Blogging Challenge. The entirety of this post is Open Gaming Content and is published under this license. Please give copyright acknowledgement to Steve Miller if you chose to reproduce the content.
   Although nominally designed for d20-based RPGs, this item is easily adapted to other games,.

The Lich Lantern (By Steve Miller)
Looted from within a labyrinth of tombs beneath a temple so ancient no one remembers the gods it was devoted to, this item is a storm lantern made from fused bones inset with glass that has a slight green tint. A sputtering black candle burns within, seeming to always be on the verge of going out yet never doing so. In other words, it always shines with a pale green light that can only be dowsed by covering it with a thick cloth or putting it inside a box. It radiates powerful necromantic and abjuration magic.
   The Lich Latern has the following effects:
   1/ All invisible creatures within the 20-foot radius of the lantern's light become visible.
   2. Ghosts and other non-corporeal beings lose any damage reduction, spell resistance, and abilities tied to being non-corporeal  while within the 20-foot radius of the lantern's light; these beings essentially briefly become corporeal..
    3. If the latched face covering on the lantern is opened while turned toward a ghost or other non-corporeal spirit, the creature must roll a Will save (DC 24) or be sucked into the lantern. The candle burns a little brighter for each entity so captured, and the person carrying the lantern gains a +1 bonus to Armor Class (or Defense Rating) for each spirit trapped.
    4. By spinning the lantern while spirits are trapped inside, the character causes it to send forth a burst of energy that harms all undead creatures within the 20-foot radius of the lamp's light. The damage is 1d6 for each ghost or spirit trapped in the lantern. This use destroys the trapped creatures.

Drawback
The Lich Lantern is actually a lich's phylactery or soul cage. The spirit of a powerful and deeply evil necromancer slumbers within, having retreated into the item when the adventurers who first recovered the lantern destroyed his undead body. If the person carrying the lantern ever has more than five ghosts or spirits trapped within it at once, he or she must instantly roll a Will save (DC 24) or be possessed by the lich. The bearer's spirit is then trapped in the phylactery.

K is for Kissing Booth

We fell down on the A to Z Blogging Challenge this week, but today we play catch-up! Everything in the paragraph under "Kissing Booth OGL d20 Stats" is Open Gaming Content and published under this license. Please give credit and copyright acknowledgement to Steve Miller.
   While the game stats for this item are nominally for d20-based games, it can easily be adapted to any system.

The Kissing Booth (By Steve Miller)
Located at the end of a carnival midway or near the entrance to a circus tent, this small, wooden structure has a bright red, heart-shaped front. Through the opening in it, you can see either a very beautiful man or woman, Below the opening is a sign that reads "One Kiss, One Copper Piece." The person within the booth calls out to passerbys who seem homely, lonely, or are themselves handsome, encouraging them to come brighten both their days with a kiss. "And all the money goes to the local orphanage," the person promises. The kisser will chat up the kissee both before and after the kiss, asking about their occupation and where they're from and complimenting them on their appearance, dress, and so forth.
  While its absolutely true that the money taken in at the booth will be donated to the local orphans, the Kissing Booth is also a means by which the operator's seek to rob wealthy attendees of the event where it is found.
   The Kissing Booth is operated by half-elf Callum Ceptor and his four associates, two very comely human men and women. They travel from carnival to carnival and are known and well-liked by other traveling entetainers and circus folik, who have no idea Callum is a thief. He is believed to be a retired adventurer who is spending his money on charity and eccentricity. (Callum actually is an adventurer, but he's  not exactly retired; he has simply found a means of getting richer that doesn't involve a constant threat of death. His companions are low-level rogues with a great deal of skill in Bluff and other personal interaction skills.)

Kissing Booth OGL d20 System Stats
The GM should roll a secret Spell Resistance check for the character being kissed (DC20). If the save fails, the person in the booth gains the ability to shapeshift into a perfect copy of the character for 24 hours. In additional, the kisser gains brief and limited telepathic powers that lets him or her know the subject's recent thoughts--hence the questions and compliments before and after the kiss, as they give the kisser information about where the target lives, how wealthy they might be, and so on. Then, while the target continues to enjoy the show, the kisser leads to his place of residence with some compatriots to steal any valuables they can find.

J is for Jester's Regalia

Today's Blogging Challenge entry is a collection of magic items for the d20 System. All text in this post is Open Gaming Content and is published under this license. If you wish to reuse this material, please give credit and copyright acknowledgement to NUELOW Games and Steve Miller.

The Jester's Regalia (By Steve Miller)
The Jester's Regalia was created for Berlan, the renegade son of King Erlash the Third of Reyla. The young man wanted to spend his life singing and dancing rather than leading armies and royal courts, and he commissioned some of the realms finest magic craftsmen to create a unique costume for him that would enhance his abilities as an entertainer.
   The outfit that was created for him has been named the Jester's Regalia by historians, as Berlan spent time performing as a roaming jester and comedian in the neighboring kingdom of Desilain after fleeing from his father's court.  It is crafted from the finest silks and linens and is bright purple, green, and gold in color. Small bells along the seams of the cap and the tunic's arms tinkle when the character moves.
   Berlan's career in show business ended abruptly when he was murdered and dismembered by a troupe of wandering minstrels who were envious of his rapidly growing fame. To hide their crime, they scattered the elements of the Jester's Regalia throughout the lands they traveled through. While individual pieces have since been reported in the possession of this collector or that adventurer, no one has ever managed to gather all give pieces together since Berlan's demise.

D20 System Stats
Each of the five pieces that make up the Jester's Regelia give the wearer a specific bonus.

   Jester's Cap: When worn, grants the character a +2 bonus to all Charisma-based skills, as well as a +2 bonus to Disguise checks as part of it hides the wearer's face and provides a slight magical distortion to his or her voice--making it more high pitched.
   Jester's Gloves: When worn, grants the character a +4 to Sleight of Hand skill checks.
   Jester's Shoes: When worn, grants the character a +4 bonus to Climb skill checks.
   Jester's Tights: When worn, grants the character a +2 bonus to Tumble skill checks.
   Jester's Tunic: When worn, grants that character a +2 enhancement bonus to armor class or defense rating..

   When all five pieces are worn together, the character  gains the fascinate ability, and can cast the following spells twice per day as if he or she is a 15th level caster: animate rope, dancing lights, ghost sound, mass charm monster, prestidigitation, sculpt sound, suggestion, tiny hut, zone of silence.

   Drawback: Unfortunately, the Jester's Regalia carries a potentially lethal downside, one that was inserted into the item during the creation process by an agent of King Erlash III who wanted to stop his son from embarrassing himself and the royal family. Whenever a character with 5 or more ranks in any Perform skill watches anyone perform in the entire Jester's Regalia, there is a 10% chance that character will be filled with an instant dislike and disgust for the performer. If the affected character fails a Will save (DC20) that dislike turns into a homicidal rage that prompts the character to instantly attack the performer. The dislike and/or rage remains until the effected character is subjected to remove curse cast at 20th level.

I is for Icing Death and Twinkler

Another day, another entry in the A to Z April Blogging Challenge from NUELOW Games! Today, we offer a couple of magical items with stats for OGL d20 System games, OpenD6 Games, and ROLF!: The Rollplaying Game. Everything under the headers OGL d20 System Stats and OpenD6 System Stats is Open Game content, and is published under this license.

Icing Death and Twinkler (By Steve Miller)

Worldstrider and dealer of curiosities Tanner P. Valentine became fascinated with a certain Drow adventurer from a distant world. Discovering the drow was quite famous, Valentine decided to market miniature replicas of his famous matched magical swords in the form of cake knives. He named his products Icing Death and Twinkler and he marketed them through the Planestrider chain of interdimensional rest-stops. They were only on the market for a brief time before Drow, admirers, friends and enemies of the famous adventurer alike, decended on stores carrying them and destroyed the items and the stores itself. The Drow's friends felt they were an insult to him, and the Drow's enemies felt they were an insult to them--that such powerful weapons and their owner would be trivilized in such a way filled everyone who knew the Drow with indignation or fury. (And then there were the lawyers who filed suit on behalf of the Drow and his trademarkable image....)
  As for Tanner P. Valentine, he still has to give both Worldstrider reststops and Drow enclaves a wide berth. He still has a few cake knife sets he is willing to quietly sell to interested parties he meets.

D20 System Stats
Icing Death and Twinkler are matched cake knives with curved blades and ornate black handles. If used as weapons, they function as +1 daggers. They were mass-produced in elven magic item sweatshops and they are therefor not safe to use to actually cut cake. If they are used to cut cake (or any other food substance), there is a 33% chance that the magical energies leaking from the knives will poison the food. In such a case, any who eat it must roll a DC 15 Fort save or be sickened for 1d6 hours, suffering a -2 penalty to all attack rolls and skill checks.

OpenD6 System Stats
Icing Death and Twinkler are matched cake knives with curved blades and ornate black handles. They are mildly enchanted and deal STR+2 when used as weapons. They were mass-produced in elven magic item sweatshops and they are therefore not safe to use to actually cut cake. If they are used to cut cake (or any other food substance), there is a 33% chance that the magical energies leaking from the knives will poison the food. In such a case, any who eat it must roll a Strength check against a target number of 12 or suffer a -1D penalty to all rolls for 1D6 hours.

ROLF! System Stats
Icing Death and Twinkler are small melee weapons that carry a dangerous enchantment. They inflict 1 point of damage that ignore armor and 1 point of regular damage.

H is for the Higgs-Bozo Particle Generator

Today's offering in the A to Z April Blogging Challenge is by Dave Mendez and Steve Miller. It features stats for OGL d20 System games and  NUELOW Games's ROLF!: The Rollplaying Game. (The paragraph labeled "OGL d20 System Stats" is Open Gaming Content and may be republished under the terms of the Open Gaming License.)

 Higgs-Bozo Particle Generator (By Steve Miller and Dave Mendez)
This device is a 3x3x3 smooth black cube that weighs 100 pounds. A large red button is located at the direct center on one of its sides. When pressed, the cube hums briefly and the smell of cotton candy and sawdust and stale sweat wafts momentarily through the air.
    The Higgs-Bozo Particle Generator emits an energy field that weakens Hell Harlequins and Killer Klowns within a 60-ft radius. Once the button is pushed, the generator remains active for 24 hours, unless damaged. It requires 10 hours to recharge between each use.

OGL d20 System Stats
Hell Harlequins and Killer Klowns suffer a -2 penalty to all attack rolls and saving throws while within range of an active Higgs-Bozo Particle Generator.
    The particle generator has 50 hit points and a damage reduction of 5/+1. It stops working after suffering 25 hit points of damage, but can still be repaired. It is damaged beyond repair after suffering 40 hit points of damage.

 ROLF! System Stats
Hell Harlequins and Killer Klowns suffer one point of damage that ignores armor for each round they are near an active Higgs-Bozo Particle Generator.
    The particle generator has 20 Brawn points and it can only be damaged by weapons or combat maneuvers that ignore armor. It stops working after it has taken 10 Brawn points.

G is for Ghost Spotter and Ghost Whisperer

Today's offering for the A to Z April Blogging Challenge is another pair of ghost-related d20 System feats from Dave Mendez and Steve Miller. All text in this post is Open Gaming Content and is published under this license. If you wish to reuse this material, please give credit and copyright acknowledgement to NUELOW Games and Steve Miller.

GHOST SPOTTER [General]
You can see things that otherwise can only be heard by captured by electronic photography/videography.
   Prerequisites: Wisdom 15.
   Benefit: With a brief moment of concentration and a sucessful Spot check (DC 10), the character can see ghosts with the naked eye. The higher the skill roll total, the clearer the character can the ghosts. This can be two-edged sword, as the sight of particularly gruesome ghosts may force a Fear check
Special:

GHOST WHISPERER [General]
You have a knack for convincing ghosts to "move on" or otherwise behave.
   Prerequisite: Charisma 15, Diplomacy 2 ranks, Ghost Spotter
   Benefit: The character gains a +4 bonus to Bargain and Diplomacy checks when speaking to ghosts and other incorporeal beings.

F is for the Fount of All Wisdom

Continuing the A to Z April Blogging Challenge with another tidbit for use in your OGL d20 System RPG sessions. All text in this post is Open Gaming Content and is published under this license. If you wish to reuse this material, please give credit and copyright acknowledgement to NUELOW Games and Steve Miller.

The Fount of All Wisdom (By Steve Miller)

On a windswept plateau, high in the mountains that marked the northeastern border of the falled kingdom of Reylar stands a decaying, sprawling complex of temples. These buildings are so ancient that not even Reylar's earliest historians knew who built them or the names of the gods who smile down at explorers from wallcarving and giant statues. The only facts known is that Reylar's first Warrior-King rose to power with wealth and magical artifacts gained from the catacombs and hidden temples in the maze-like tunnels beneath the structures, and that for centuries that followed, adventurers who braved the wilderness and scaled the forbidding mountains also returned with great wealth.

Although the main treasure troves of the ruins have long since been emptied, occasional small rewards can be had by those who explore them, mostly in the form of gear recovered from the bodies of less skilled explorers. Such trinkets are not why modern adventurers and explorers make the long and deadly journey to reach the ruins--the come in search of the legendary Fount of All Wisdom,.Reportedly located deep within the tunnel complex below the ruins, those who drink from it gain wisdom possessed by the gods themselves. But gaining such insight carries with it possible price--the weak-minded are unable to handle divine wisdom and they are driven hoplessly mad.

OGL d20 System Rules
The Fount of Wisdom consists of a large marble basin and three life-sized, highly detailed statues of human females--one representing a young girl, one representing a full-grown woman, and one representing an old woman--pouring neverending streams of crystal clear water from tilted goblets in their hands.

Each character can drink four times from the fount in a lifetime--once from each individual stream and once from the basin. The proper order to drink is from the basin, from the young girl, from the full-grown woman, and finally the old woman. Drinking out of order counts as one of the four time, but it gives no benefit other than slaking a character's thirst. When used in the proper sequence, characters can gain random benefits (or drawbacks) as described on the following tables. Each table is keyed to a d6 roll. Benefits and drawbacks are permanent, unless otherwise noted, and they stack with other results from using the fount.

Effects of the Basin
1. No effect.
2. Survival becomes a permanent class skill.
3. Listen becomes a permanent class skill.
4. Sense Motive becomes a permanent class skill.
5. +1 to Wisdom attribute.
6. +1 to Strength or Constitution attribute; player's choice.

Effects of the Young Girl
1. Character becomes 2d6 years younger, with any appropriate age-based attribute adjustments 
     occurring instantly.
2. Roll again on Effects of Basin table. If result has already occurred, no effect.
3. +2 permanent bonus to Listen skill checks.
4. +2 permanent bonus to Sense Movie skill checks.
5. +2 permanent bonus to Handle Animal skill checks.
6. +1 to Wisdom attribute.

Effects of the Grown Woman
1.Character loses 1d3 Charisma attribute points, round up.
2. Roll again on the Effects of the Basin table. If the result has already occurred, no effect.
3. +1 permanent bonus to Listen checks.
4. +1 permanent bonus to Sense Motive checks.
5. +2 permanent bonus to Spot checks.
6. +2 to Wisdom attribute.

Effects of the Old Woman
1. The character is subject to a permanent confusion spell effect. Only a healing artifact or a god itself can
     restore the character to normal.
2. Roll on the Effects of the Grown Woman table, If the result has already occurred, no effect.
3. Roll on the Effects of the Basin table. If the result has already occurred, no effect.
4. Whenever the character rolls a successful critical attack, he must roll a Will save (DC30) or fall victim to the effects of the hideous laughter spell (as if cast by a 20th level caster),.
5. The character instantly ages 2d6 years, with any modifiers to attributes applied immediately.
6. +4 to Wisdom attribute.

E is for Ectoplasmic Dominator and Dampener

Today's A to Z April Blogging Challenge offers a couple of feats that fit in nicely with the horror feats presented here a couple of weeks ago.

A thanks goes to Dave Mendez, a long time friend of NUELOW Games, for his contribution today. If you want to contribute something as we work our way through the alphabet with RPG tidbits, email us at stevemillermail@gmail.com.

All text in this post is Open Gaming Content and is published under this license. If you wish to reuse this material, please give credit and copyright acknowledgement to NUELOW Games and Steve Miller.


Ectoplasmic Dominator (By Steve Miller)
Incorporeal beings are weaker when attempting to attack you. This ability comes from your brave spirit that ensures you're not afraid of ghosts.
   Benefit: You gain a Defense Rating or Armor Class bonus of +2, and a +2 bonus to Fortitude and Will saves against attacks made by incorporeal beings.

Ectoplasmic Dampener (By Dave Mendez)
Incorporeal beings are slightly weaker when you are nearby due to your grounded personality.
   Prerequisite: Ectoplasmic Dominator, character level 5+.
   Benefit: The character and all allied creatures within 15 feet gain a +2 bonus to Defense Rating or Armor Class, and a +2 bonus to Fortitude and Will saves against attacks made by incorporeal beings/ These bonuses stack with all others.


(If you like those feats, you might also like our ghost-centric Advanced Class, the Ghostmaster. Click here to check it out (and perhaps even buy your own copy).

D is for Direscents

Today's entry in the "A to Z Blogging Challenge" is a bit of a cheat. It's a description of magical plants that's been revised from a piece written a decade ago. (There may be a second, all-original item posted later too, and if you want to participate, send an item to stevemillermail@gmail.com.)


All text in this post is considered Open Gaming Content and is published under this license. If you wish to reuse this material, please give credit and copyright acknowledgement to NUELOW Games and Steve Miller.

Direscents (By Steve Miller)

Direscent plants are a genus of deadly, flowering vines often found in the vicinity of alchemist's laboratories, sorcerer's homes, and certain temples devoted to gods whose portfolios include aspects relating to unspoiled wildernesses.

The origin of these plants is disputed, with some records claiming the direscent varieties are the result of a magical botany experiment gone wrong, while others hold them to be the creation of the goddess Fahlarene, the Guardian of Wild Places. Even the most dedicated scholars have been unable to discern the truth, Fahlarene as usual can't be bothered with petty questions from scholars and other civilized folk, so it is not likely that the true origin of direscents will ever be known to mortals.

The plants are recognzied by their large pitcher-shaped flowers and broad pollen fronds hanging from the center of the flowers. (Picture a flower somewhere between a lily and a tulip.) On average, there are 1d6 blooming flowers within each square foot of direscent patch. The plant's magical origins first became suspected when people noticed these flowers bloomed on bimonthly cycles, even through winter, if the beds were kept exposed to the sun. In fact, many towns planted direscents without knowing the dangers because they wanted flowering plants in their gardens or along their fences all winter. Still, the plant's hardiness aside, the dangers from the flowers lie in the pollen fronds.

All the direscent varieties have a dark green, ground crawling stalk with waxen leaves similar in shape to a cloven hoof. The stalks crawl along like ivy, sometimes covering the exterior of a tower, hanging over roof edges, and creating a curtain of vines, etc. These stalks are tough, and require at least 3 points of slashing damage to sever them. Even if severed, direscents root where they fall, if possible, and they can spread and carpet whole areas.

Further, any human or humanoid skin (any flesh without scales, a thick hide, or heavy fur protection) that comes into contact with the oily leaves or stalks of a direscent becomes irritated and breaks out in a rash. While not fatal, if left untreated by washing with soap or treating with a cure disease, the affected skin breaks out into minor blood boils and the afflicted person suffers a high fever (onset time 1d8 hours, lasting for 2d12 hours; 1d4 points of subdual damage during affliction).

Lastly, the oils on direscent leaves and stalks have a deteriorating effect on leather. While leather gloves can be used to protect one's hands from their effects, the oils react with the curing agents in leather products and render the leather rotted and useless within 48 hours of contact. Leather armor lasts slightly longer, but within 96 hours, said armor is likewise rotted at any point of contact with the plants' oils.

Three primary varieties of direscents exist, known by color and by various colloquial names assigned by their effects. Note that direct contact with the plants shakes loose the pollen in a 10-foot diameter cloud in that round and the cloud expands an additional 10 feet in each direction the following round. Also, if wind or other forces are used to shake pollen loose, the pollen's most dangerous effects are only viable within 25 feet of release from the plant. Any pollen drifting farther away from the plant is too widely spread to cause more than a mild skin irritant without any measurable game effects.

Orange Direscent / "Flamebloom": While most direscents do not compound their effects, the orange flower does. If exposed to the pollen from less than a dozen flamebloom, the living being must make a Fortitude Save at DC 14 or fall comatose for 2d12 hours. However, if a being comes into contact with pollen from more than 12 orange flowers, the Fortitude DC becomes 18; if successful, the victim suffers the comatose fever as above, but if it fails, the victim's skin erupts in flames. The pollen and skin oils react violently and inflict 1d8 points of fire damage. GMs can mitigate or expand this damage depending on the amount of skin exposure on a victim (deal with clothing and exposed skin using the Cover rules).

Red Direscent / "Stenchrose": This flower is the most dangerous of the direscents, as any living flesh that comes into contact with its pollen has its pheromones and base scent grossly magnified. While most humans would only notice a rise in the person's normal body odor, anything with a sensitive nose -- such as those creatures having the Scent feat -- would be able to detect or track this person easily. Hiding and other attempts at remaining unnoticed are reduced by half, and any attempts to track said victim increase by 50% as well. The person's scent remains escalated for 3d12 hours, even after immersion in water. The only antidote to this is an alcohol bath, which can wash away the pollen-impregnated skin oils. For quick on-the-road fixes, it takes the contents of three full wineskins to totally wash away the pollen on a Medium-size humanoid.

Purple Direscent / "Mage-bane": The pollen of the purple direscent immediately acts as an allergen upon any physical contact (Fortitude save at DC 12 or the victim is treated as being stunned, due to sneezing, coughing, watering eyes, etc. for 2d4 minutes) but also has hidden dangers for any spellcasters, divine or arcane. Exposure to the mage-bane pollen also forces a Fortitude save at DC 14 to avoid blindness and severe itching for 2d4 hours.

Beyond these effects, the hidden danger is that if this second save is successful, the first spell cast by the victim causes the pollen to conduct the energies away from the casting and disrupt the spell. Any spell cast within 3d12 hours of exposure has a 50% chance of total failure versus normal spell activity. This fine pollen can be washed away by alcohol, like the red direscent pollen above. (Some wizards are said to be cultivating black direscents to increase the lethality of the purple bloom's pollen, hoping to make magic feedback on the caster or force any active magic to be disrupted by the pollen. Luckily, such plants are only rumors, not yet reality.)

Cultivating Direscent Plants

Characters who wish to cultivate direscent plants have to harvest and transport their own plants. Few merchants carry actual direscent seeds or live plants, as followers of Fahrlarene have been known to curse those who do as these nature priests hold the plants sacred.

Direscent plants grow low to the ground and spread in patches, like strawberries. They can survive in virtually any climate where there is at least one inch of precipitation per year and plenty of sunshine. The grow best in mineral-rich soil, but have been known to take root anywhere they receive direct sunlight for at least two hours every day.

While direscent plants bloom all year, their stalks only grow during the warm months. Careful cultivation can expand a direscent patch by 10 square feet per growing season in arctic climes; 25 square feet per growing season in temperate climes; 50 square feet per growing season in subtropical and tropical climes; and five square feet per growing season in a desert environment.

The growth of the plants can be hastened by druids or through the use of appropriate magic and skills. Direscents respond to such activities as normal plants would.

Direscent Pollen as a Weapon

The glass vials that are used to collect and store direscent pollen can be used as grenadelike weapons. In larger cities, arms-merchants who cater to adventurers or less-than-honorable fighting men and women sell vials of direscent pollen for use as ranged weapons. The vials have the same range as a throwing dagger. They typically sell for 100 gp each. The potency of the pollen fades after six months unless magically prepared or treated. Still, one vial, depending on the rarity of direscents in the area, could sell for much more than the price given above.

C is for Cudgel of Peace

Here's today's entry in our month-long A to Z Blogging Challenge series. If you want to participate by providing an item of your creation,, drop us an email at stevemillermail@gmail.com with your own original creations.

All text in this post is considered Open Gaming Content and is published under this license. If you wish to reuse this material, please give credit and copyright acknowledgement to NUELOW Games and Steve Miller.


The Cudgel of Peace (By L.L. Hundal)
The kingdom of Reylar had for most of its long and bloody history been ruled by the Warrior-Priests of Vom, God of war and wealth, and they had made the kingdom rich through raids and conquest. But when several neighboring lands united their forces and conducted a unified invasion of Reylar, the final chapter of the kingdom's bloody history was written.

As the last of his temples were consumed by fire, a weeping Vom found refuge in the simple home Shim, godess of agriculture and the seasons, She convinced the broken god to turn what had been the symbol of his priesthood's power into a tool that would ensure the survival of the remaining Reylar by turning them from the path of war and revenge to one of peace and cooperation. This created perhaps some of the strangest "cursed" weapons to ever come into existence.

OGL d20 and OpenD6 System Stats
A cudgel of peace appears to be a flame-blackened club that is filigreed with gold and platinum that provides a +4 bonus to attack and damage rolls when wielded. However, the moment its wielder chooses a target to attack, all creatures within a 30-foot radius must roll Will saves with -2 penalties or fall victim to an effect similar to a permanent  charm monster spell  Creatures so effected view everyone under the spell as their dearest friends and allies and will under no circumstance continue to fight against them.

B is for Bridget's Whip

It's April 2, so here's B for the A to Z April Blogging Challenge. (NUELOW Games isn't an official participant, but we're playing along anyway!)

Here's another artifact for use in OGL d20 and OpenD6 system games. If you want to participate, drop us an email at stevemillermail@gmail.com with your own original creations.

All text in this post is considered Open Gaming Content and is published under this license. If you wish to reuse this material, please give credit and copyright acknowledgement to NUELOW Games and Steve Miller.



Bridget's Whip (By Steve Miller)
Lady Bridget of Fairwater Crossing was an evil and twisted woman who enjoyed inflicting pain almost as much as she enjoyed being subjected to it. The day she beat a maid who was much-loved among the other servants to death, the rest of the staff put an end to her as well. Whether she died shrieking or laughing, none could say, but as the butler struck the killing blow with the silver-covered handle of her bullwhip he thought he saw insane glee in her eyes.

The servants looted the house of its valuables and scattered to the four winds. The butler kept the whip and eventually became infamous as a particularly brutal leader of a gang of bandits. The end he eventually came to was very similar to that of Lady Bridget--he was slain by his own underlings after they got tired of taking the brunt of his sadistic ways. Almost every person who has possessed Bridget's Whip over the decades has some to a similar violent end.

OGL d20 and OpenD6 System Stats
This black and silver bullwhip radiates magic and appears to give a +2 bonus to damage. In truth, the weapon deals double damage on a successful hit (roll normal whip damage and multiply the result by two). In addition, whenever the whip inflicts maximum damage, it inflicts such a deep and terrible gash that the target loses 1 hit point per round following until he receives first aid or magical healing.

Drawbacks: Whenever a character wields Bridget's Whip, he or she must roll a Will save with a Difficulty of 15. If the saving throw fails, the character immediately becomes a gleeful sadistic maniac who goes out of his or her way to torment helpless people and animals. Whenever he or she encounters a character who is higher level, that character must roll a Will check with a Difficulty of 18. If the check fails, the higher level character will become dedicated to destroying the wielder of the whip

A is for Amaterasu's Cloak

Although we're not an official participant in the A to Z Blogging Challenge, we here at NUELOW Games will nonetheless partipate by posting a different item for use in d20 System, d6 System, or ROLF! RPGs every Monday - Saturday this month, or until we run out of letters in the alphabet. (If you want to participate, drop us an email at stevemillermail@gmail.com with your own original creations.)

All text in this post is considered Open Gaming Content and is published under this license. If you wish to reuse this material, please give credit and copyright acknowledgement to NUELOW Games and Steve Miller.

Amaterasu's Cloak (Design by Steve Miller)
Reported to having been spun on the loom of the sun goddess Amaterasu, this cloak of fine golden threads, and rich red and orange silks was first discovered floating on a sea in the aftermath of a wild winter storm. When draped over the shoulders of a medium-sized humanoid, it gives the wearer the ability to channel the power of the sun itself.

D20 System and D6 System Stats
This artifact has two effects that each can be activated by the wearer once per day through an act of will. (One former owner was known to say "Here Comes the Sun" when activating the cloak, but that was just a personal flourish.)
:
Effect 1: Radiate sunlight, illuminating up to 120 feet area around him or her. Creatures who are weakened or harmed by sunlight suffer as if they are exposed to the actual sun. This effect lasts for three hours or until dismissed by the wearer.

Effect 2: Radiate intense heat that deals 4d6 points of damage to creatures within melee range, 2d6 points of damage to creatures within a 10 feet radius, and 1d6 points of damage to creatures more than 15 feet away but within 25 feet. Easily flammable objects and substances catch fire within 15 feet of the wearer's location.

Drawbacks: As soon as the character wears the cloak, he or she begins to suffer from night blindness. All attacks and detail-oriented actions at night are subject to a +4 modifier to difficulty ratings in both the D20 System and D6 Systems. Even if the character stops using the cloak, the night blindness persists until he or she personally returns to cloak to its rightful owner--Amaterasu herself.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

If you need a last-minute time-filler for any St. Patrick's Day gamer gatherings, you can't go wrong with our Irish-themed ROLF! supplements!

There's St. Patty vs. The Snake where Ireland's own superhero must stop her two greatest foes, The Snake and Tee-totaler, from turning all the world's beer into apple juice and all redheads into Spaniards.

Click here to see previews or download a copy.

And there's Jennifer vs. the L, where Conan O'Brien and Jennifer Aniston must fend off the Monster o' the Irish! (BTW, it's the 20th anniversary of Jennifer Aniston's first major  role in the original Leprechaun film. Click here to read more about that landmark movie series.)

Click here to see previews or to download a copy.

Horror Feats, Part One

As you may or may not know, NUELOW Games's Steve Miller used to write for the famous Ravenloft gothic horror setting for AD&D and D&D Third Edition. He also contributed to a couple Storyteller products from White Wolf. And he loves watching and reviewing horror movies, as he demonstates weekly at the Terror Titans blog. With that in mind, here are some feats that will let you bring some horror movie and slasher movie vibes to your OGL Modern games. (They compliment any product in the Modern Basics or Modern Advances series.)



(The rest of this post is Open Game Content, as defined by the Open Game License v1.0a. If you should wish to make your OGL d20 game products, please include "Horror Movie Feats, Part One by L.L Hundal. Copyright 2013 Steve Miller and NUELOW Games" in the copyright section.)

HORROR MOVIE FEATS, PART ONE

By L.L. Hundal (with a friendly tip-of-the-hat to Steve Miller for outloud design musings.)

Danger Sense [General]
You have an uncanny ability for sensing trouble just before it strikes.
Benefit: You gain a +2 bonus to all Spot and Sense Motive checks.

Survivor [General]
This feat is suitable for monsters and victims alike. It makes them exceptionally hard to kill.
Prerequisite: Too Cute To Die
Benefit: When the character drops below half of her full hit points, she instantly recovers 2d6 hit points. Whenever the character suffers damage while below half of her full hit points, she recovers 1d6 hit points after the damage has been resolved. This benefit only applies if the character is between zero and half their total hit points.
 When the character drops below 0 hit points, she rolls a Fort save with a +4 bonus. If the save is successful, she instantly regains 2d6 hit points.

Too Cute to Die [Genera]
You are either so funny, cute, or sexy that it sometimes seems as if you are deathproof.
Prequisite: Cha 15 or higher.
Benefit: You add your Charisma bonus to your Defense Rating and Reflex saving throws.



(If you enjoyed those feats, please check out NUELOW Games's OGL d20 Sysetm products. Click here to see previews at RPGNow, or to even buy copies.)

On the cutting edge for 20 years!

It has come to our attention that a certain d20 OGL-based RPG is being prasied as the ultimate roleplaying game because it features overtly gay NPCs and is therefore the most "inclusive" RPG in the history of universe.

While we congratulate the designers and developers and marketeers behind the "ultimate roleplaying game" for the buzz they're generating we feel here at NUELOW Games are scratching our heads in bemusement that gay themes suddenly seem to be something gamers are celebrating. We've been including gay characters and game mechanics in our games for 20 years--since the very earliest days of the NUELOW game series--and no one has ever celebrated us as "celebrating diversity."

Similarly, our current flagship line, ROLF!: The Rollplaying Game, seems to be more of an ultimate ultimate RPG, as from its earliest edition not only featured a "gay iconic character," but even allowed for the creation of overtly gay player characters. (Check out that hoary classic for free by downloading it here.) To this day, we regularly feature gay characters in ROLF! supplements--and they're not just there so we can proclaim how "diverse" we are to the world.. Hell, in ROLF!: Black Kitten vs, June Collyer we were even quietly turning Golden Age Superheroes gay well before DC Comics decided to make a marketing stunt.

But maybe that's where we went wrong. We should have been jumping up and down and shouting "Hey! Hey! Look at us! We've got gay characters!"... and maybe NUELOW "Fairies!" would have been the ORIGINAL ulitmate RPG! In fact, we are so casual about including gay characters in our products that we can't even remember which ones has them and which ones don't, with the exception of one mentioned above and ROLF!: The Breast Hope for Peace.

Yes... we're jealous. We are, first and foremost, attention whores here at NUELOW Games--inept attention whores obviously, but attention whores nonetheless. We need to jump on this "ultimate inclusive RPG" band-wagon before it becomes worn and tattered, and L.L. Hundal has come up with the perfect way for us to do it.

For your enjoyment (and our ability to say "hey... we're inclusive, and we've been inclusive since Nineteen-bloody-Ninety-Two! and we're still inclusive and full of diversity and ultimateness") here are some OGL d20 feats that will let gamers turn ANY OGL d20 game into an ULTIMATE RPG that's even more inclusive and ultimate than the ultimate RPG that triggered this post (and our envy and desperate need for attention)!!

Take it away, Ms. Hundal!

(Everything in this post below here, apart from the image, is Open Game Content, as defined by the Open Game License v1.0a. If you should wish to make your OGL d20 game products into ULTIMATE OGL game products, please include "Everyone's Gay! by L.L Hundal. Copyright 2013 Steve Miller and NUELOW Games" in the copyright section.)

MODERN BASICS: FEATS OF DIVERSITY AND ULTIMATENESS

Feats to make any OGL d20 system into the Ultimate RPG

By L.L Hundal

Gay [General]
Your character has a sexual preference toward his or her own gender/sex.
  Benefit: You receive a +2 bonus to all Craft and Perform skill checks.
  Special: You receive a +2 bonus to Will saves when resisting charm person and all other mind-effecting spells and extraordinary powers and abilities from a character or monster of the opposite sex. If no saving throw is normally allowed, you may roll a Will save with a -4 penalty.

Gaydar [Social]
Your character can recognize other gay characters across a crowded room... across time and space even!
  Prereq: Gay feat.
  Benefit: Upon making a successful Spot skill check (DC12) the character can identify other characters who have the Gay feat within a 60-foot radius. If detected characters are out of line-of-sight, your character has a vague sense that there is another gay character nearby. If a target is hiding their gayness, the DC is the "closeted" characters's Disguise skill check.
  Special: Characters with 5 or more ranks in Knowledge (literature) Knowledge (history) or Knowledge (conspiracy theories) may roll Spot checks to recognize gay persons in history or fiction.

Ghey [Social]
Your character is a bit of fool who is likely to write articles titled Feats of Diversity and Ultimateness.
  Prereq: Wis 10 or lower, Cha 10 or lower.
  Benefit: You receive a +2 competency bonus to all Bluff checks.
  Special: Characters with the Ghey feat are inherently cowardly. They receive a -2 penalty to Will saves to resist intimidation and peer pressure..

(If you enjoyed those feats, please check out NUELOW Games's other OGL d20 Sysetm products. Click here to check them out. Heck, you might find that Feats of Seduction and Subterfuge will fit right in with your game if Gay and Gaydar work for you.)

Remember the time the world didn't end?

For all of 2012, we here at NUELOW Games hedged our bets that it was not pure idiocy to claim that the end of the ancient Mayan calendar predicted the end of the world/time/universe/whatever. Each month, we released what might have been final game product ever.

As it turned out, it was pure idiocy to believe the end of the Mayan calendar was the end of the world. The end of the Mayan calendar no more predicted the end of the world than the end of the 2012 Maxfield Parrish calendar in Steve Miller's office predicted the end of the world by coming to an end.

The end result is that history carries on... and we're offering you a chance to remember the year the world didn't end by getting all 12 Final Battles in one easy download and at a reduced price. From The Grim Reaper vs. the Fertility Goddess to Apocalypse Not, these supplements cover with width and breadth of what you and your friends can do with ROLF!: The Rollplaying of Big Dumb Fighters. New Combat Maneuvers and Traits, new Spellings, and rules for taking ROLF! in entirely new directions, such as into the superhero genre and giving gamers an opportunity to create and play angels, demons, and gods.

Click here to read details about each of the 12 Final Battles, or to download them all for just $4.

(Re)Introducting 'Hawkshaw the Detective'

Every great artist, writer, or circus clown starts their career somewhere. In the case of Robert E. Howard, creator of the iconic fantasy character Conan and other great adventure fiction characters like Steve Costigan, Breckinridge Elkins, and El Borak (all of which are featured in e-books published by NUELOW Games), the start came with fan fiction.

In 1923, the young Robert E. Howard published two fan fictions inspired by Gus Mager's Hawkshaw the Detective comic strip in his high school newspaper. Mager, working under the penname Watso, had initiated the character as a Sherlock Holmes spoof named Sherlocko. The name-change to Hawkshaw came when Sir Arthur Conan Doyle threatened to sue Mager and his syndicate for copyright infringement. ("Hawkshaw" was a once-widespread American slang-term for "private detective" that fell out of vogue during the 1930s.)

"Hawkshaw the Detective" was published on and off from 1913 through 1947 when it met its final demise and faded into comic strip history. Modern readers will relate to Howard's Hawkshaw stories as spoofs of Sherlock Holmes rather than the fan fiction inspired by a Sherlock Holmes spoof that they are.

In another display of our deep love for writings of Robert E. Howard--Steve Miller for everything but a number of his Conan stories, L.L. Hundal for his humor stories--NUELOW Games offers one of those early fan stories, along with ROLF! game stats for the Great Hawkshaw and his sidekick Colonel Watso.

ROLF!: HAWKSHAW THE DETECTIVE

By L.L. Hundal

Hawkshaw the Detective (Male)

Brawn 14, Body 13, Brains 6

Traits: Nimble

Combat Maneuvers:  Basic Attack, Debate Philosophy, Disarm, Dodge, Run Away, Walk and Chew Gum

Important Items Worn/Wielded: Tweed Coat and Matching Deerstalker Hat (Clothes), Magnifying Glass (grants -1 modifier to Brain checks while searching for clews). Revolver (Small Ranged Weapon. Four Shots. Deals 3 points of damage that ignore armor).

Colonel Watso (Male)

Brawn 12, Body 10, Brains 4

Traits:  Honorable

Combat Maneuvers: Basic Attack, Disarm, Dodge, Strike Pose

Important Items Worn/Wielded: Howitzer (Large Ranged Weapon. One Shot. Deals 5 points of damage that ignore armor).

* - *

THE MYSTERY OF THE QUEEN'S NECKLACE

By Robert Ervin Howard

First published in The Tattler, the Brownwood High School paper, March 1, 1923.

Inspired by Gus Mager's Hawkshaw the Detective.

Hawkshaw, the great detective, was smoking a stogy reflectively when the Colonel burst into the room.

"Have you heard—" he began excitedly, but Hawkshaw raised his hand depreciatingly.

  "My dear Colonel," he said. "You excite yourself unduly: you were about to tell me that the Queen's necklace, valued at fifteen million shillings, was stolen from her boudoir and that so far Scotland Yard has found no trace of the thief although they have ransacked London."

  "You are a wonder, Hawkshaw," exclaimed the Colonel admirlingly. "How did you know that?"

  "Deduction, my dear Colonel," replied Hawkshaw, surreptitiously concealing the newspaper in which was a full account of the robbery.

  "Have you been to the palace?" he asked.

  "I have," was the reply. "And I brought the only clew to be found. This cigar stub was found just beneath the palace window.

  Hawkshaw seized the stub and examined it carefully. He stated, "The man who stole the necklace was a very tall, lank, gangling person, with very large feet and cross-eyed. He wears a number 5 hat."

  "Wonderful!" exclaimed the Colonel, "and how may I ask do you deduce that? How do you even know that a person who smoked that cigar stole the necklace?"

  "The stub is flattened on one side. That proves that its smoker had a large foot. He stepped on it and it would take a great deal of weight to even dent a cigar like that. I know that its smoker is the thief because it is a long stub and anyone who could stand one whiff of that cigar would smoke it entirely up. He would be that kind of man. He evidently dropped it in his haste to make his getaway."

  "But that hat? And his tallness and cross-eyes?"

  "Any man that would smoke a cigar like that would wear about a number 5 hat. As for the tallness and cross-eyes I will explain later."

  Just then there came a tap at the door. The Colonel opened it and an old man entered. He wore large green glasses, was a great deal stooped and had white hair and a long white beard.

  "You are the famous detective?" he addressed Hawkshaw. "I believe I have a clew to this theft. I passed along the opposite side of the street about the time the robbery was supposed to have taken place. A man jumped out of the palace window and walked rapidly up the street."

  "Umhum," remarked Hawkshaw, "what kind of man was this?"

  "He was about five feet tall and weighed perhaps three hundred lbs.," was the reply.

  "Umhum," commented Hawkshaw, "would you mind listening to my theory?"

  "I would be delighted," answered the old man as he seated himself in the best chair.

  "Well, then!" began Hawkshaw, rising and walking to the middle of the room so that he could gesture without knocking the table over. "At the time of robbery was committed a man was returning home from a fishing trip on the Thames. He carried a fishing pole on his shoulder and as he walked along he looked into the windows of houses he had passed while seemingly gazing straight ahead for he was very cross-eyed."

  Here the visitor started, but Hawkshaw went on, apparently oblivous. "The gentleman at last arrived in Windsor and passing the palace saw the necklace lying on the mahogany table. The window was open and though it was high off the ground he saw a way to get it. He was (and is) a very tall man and he had a long rod and line. Standing on tiptoes he made a cast through the window as if casting for trout. He hooked the necklace at the first throw and fled, dropping his cigar in his flight. He also stepped on the cigar. He eluded the police easily and thought to elude me by coming to me in disguise and seeking to divert suspicion in another direction."

  And with that Hawkshaw leaped upon the old man and gripped him by the beard and gave a terrific jerk. The old man gave a yell as he was jerked erect and yanked across the floor. Hawkshaw turned pale. He had made a mistake in identity? He placed a foot against the old gentleman's face and grasping the beard firmly in both hands gave another jerk. Something gave way and Hawkshaw and his victim sprawled on the floor, Hawkshaw holding in his hands the false beard and wig. While the impostor was trying to rise, encumbered by his long coat the detective sprang nimbly up and with great dexterity kicked the huge green glasses from his face.

  The "old man" was revealed as a tall, gangling man with huge feet and cross-eyes!

  “You're under arrest,” Hawkshaw said, advancing toward him with a pair of handcuffs.

  The man sprang to his feet and drew a glittering butter knife from his pocket. "I am a desperate man! Beware!"

  At that moment the Colonel recovered from his amazement enough to push the muzzle of a howitzer against the villain and he was soon handcuffed.

  "Call the police, Colonel," directed Hawkshaw, taking the necklace out of the fellow's pocket.

  "Curses!" hissed the villain, "tricked, foiled, baffled! Curses!"

"But, Hawkshaw," asked the Colonel a few hours later, after they had collected the enormous reward that had been offered for the recovery of the necklace. "But Hawkshaw, how did you know that was the man?"

"My dear Colonel," answered Hawkshaw as with a smile he lighted a stogy, "I smelt the fish on his hands."

The End